1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to dental implants and is particularly directed to improved dental implant attachments which enable the prosthesis to quickly and easily be removed and reinstalled by the wearer.
2. Prior Art
Dental implants have been available for several years now and, conventionally, have been installed by imbedding a fixture in the patient's jaw for osseointegration, threading several mounting posts into this fixture and securing a dental prosthesis to these mounting posts to provide a restoration which simulates natural teeth in most aesthetic and functional attributes. Thus, dental implant prostheses are fixedly mounted in the wearer's mouth and, hence, will not slip during usage, which is a common complaint of traditional dental prostheses. However, permanently mounted dental prostheses must be mounted so that there is adequate space between the prosthesis and the gumline to provide access for daily cleaning of the implants and attach components. Otherwise, plaque accumulation around the implants will cause bone loss, abscess and eventual loss of the implant. Unfortunately, providing this cleaning space causes problems for the patient including food impaction, poor phonics (air escaping under the prosthesis) and, most of all, unacceptable aesthetics. Moreover, permanently mounted dental implant prostheses must periodically be removed by a dentist for cleaning, inspection and the like, which causes considerable expense and inconvenience to the wearer. Alternatively, dental implant prostheses must be of the removable type, in which the implants are used to stabilize the prosthesis with ball and O-ring attachments or "bar and clip" type attachments. With the removable type prosthesis, an acrylic flange can be included to extend over and hide the implant components. With this arrangement, no cleaning space is necessary between the prosthesis and the gum because the wearer is able to remove the prosthesis to perform thorough cleaning of the implants and the subjacent gum area. Because the implant components are hidden, the removable dental prostheses are more aesthetically pleasing. However, the main disadvantage of the removable prostheses is its inherent lack of stability and the possibility of its becoming dislodged during use. Along with this comes lack of the patient's confidence in and acceptance of the prosthesis. Also, it has been found that the flexible O-rings and clips become fatigued with use and tend to loosen and to allow slippage and disattachment of the prosthesis from the mounting posts, causing problems similar to those encountered by wearers of conventional non-implant dental prostheses. A search in the United States Patent Office has revealed the following:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. INVENTOR ISSUED ______________________________________ 5,064,374 D. Lundgren Nov. 12, 1991 5,051,091 P. J. Rosenfeld Sep. 24, 1991 4,988,292 D. B. Rosen Jan. 29, 1991 4,931,016 R. Sillard Jun. 5, 1990 ______________________________________
Each of these references is subject to the deficiencies noted above. Thus, none of the prior art dental implants have been entirely satisfactory.